[Ian Gourlay]

My 2nd vac motor appears to have failed  as it is tripping the trip switches.

I have a Diamondback.  Phoned Ashbys and as the carriage charges including Vat would be £85 they suggested I might consider fitting new vac myself.

I do have two spare second hand vacs.

I now know how to get at  vac from top.

But my question is why should vac fail when it worked day before.

Can water get into vac could this be problem.

If I swap vac over can I get this one repaired or do you just throw them away.  Is there any test that can be done to make sure vac is completley caput.

How do I know its not the on off switch causing the problem.

I carried on with job just using one vac.  Did I do any harm to other vac.

What was also strange was in a non scientific test it my recovery tank was as full as when I had two vacs working.



Regards

Ian

[mark_roberts]

From experience vacs only last for about a year on my Ninja.  Once you smell the burning smell they die soon after.  I treat them as a throw away item.  You can replace brushes but I found this time consuming and very fiddley.

You could use a test screwdriver to identify if power is going to the vac.  If so you could assume the switch is working.

Price around for vacs.  Woodbridge and A&M seem to be the best for price but £85 is a bit steep for carriage.  £10-20 for carriage gets most things to Belfast.

Anyone get longer from a vac motor and if so how providing the machine is working day in day out.

thanks
Mark

[Dynafoam]

Mark & Ian,

I normaly get 2-4 years out of a vac motor, with 2-3 brush revewals.

The secret of long life is cooling - not just when the motor is running with its' attached fan blowing into the armature/field coil, but in the 'hot-soak' situation that occurs when the motor is switched off and the heat within the coils is not being actively removed.

For seveal minutes after switchin off the temperature of the motor actually rises - this is why often the motor work, is switched off, and will not re-start.

On my multimotor units I attatched aluminium heat sinks to the metal laminates, plus fans directing cold air through them, but on a twin-vac machine permanantly-on active cooling is normally sufficient.

The Diamondback has I belive a single fan, extracting air from the case - which is good, but I would add a second fan, directing cold air directly at the motors.

On some machines the hot air exhausted from the vac  units can be better directed out of the case in a manner that also increases the air intake, which reduces the ambient temperature whilst running.

John.

[Mark Betts]

John

After how many hours do you recommend replacing the brushes on a 5.7" 3 stage vac?

Thanks


Mark

[Ed Valentine]

After reading John Boltons answer, I must admit, with great pride, that I was grinning. John gave a terrific answer and showed his many years of experience in his answer.

His major point I thought, was mentioning the fact that it is most important to directly exhaust the humid/hot air away from the inter-components (very) quickly; while having "direct" in-coming airflow (cool) to cool down the vacuum motor. In doing this, the end result will be extending the life of the motor unbelievably. And, ofcourse, really, that was the way they (the vacuum motors) were designed in the first place.

Way to go once again, John. Great answer.

Good Fortune to small business;
Ed Valentine
cross-american corp.

[mark_roberts]

So is it enough to direct the exhaust out through the bottom of the machine like the Ninja and from memory the recoil where the heat will rise back into the case or is it better to actually vent the exhaust to the outside of the machine?

Any tips for replacing the brushes as I found it inpossible to remove the contact from the old brush without breaking it.

thanks
Mark

[nick.solution]

Hi Guys

a simple tip when you finish work or are transporting the machine leave the recovery tank open and allow it breath, condensation forms inside the vac to tank pipe work and when turned on after cooling the first thing you do is take water through the vac motor shortening its life.

Best regards Nick

[Bryan H]

Reference vac motor lifespan.    I have two 'Ninja's'  The earlier one has standard 3 stage, and I had 4 replacements in three years.  my newer machine has 3 stage heavy duty, and I had to replace one motor after 4 years, but the other vac is still running after five & a half years.

I have had a few brush changes of course, but this Ninja is used at least 5 days a week.  I reckon this is pretty good.

As Mark says, can't change brushes myself, as contacts break !

How do they do it ??

Bryan

[Dynafoam]

Mark,

The life-span of the brushes varies with opperating conditions - for example the carbon compound is suseptable to enbritlement by even damp air, when the carbon heats up it is then more prone to surface fracturing in use.

I find that I can normaly hear when the brushes are due for renewal but it is sensible to inspect the innards of any machine every few weeks for leaks, fraying hoses etc., so a visible check can be made on the brushes at these times.

The removal of the contacts from the brush assemblies is best done with a good pair of round-nose pliers - never pull on the wire. If the contact is tight the blade of a small screwdriver, inserted between the contact and carrier can loosen its' grip.

Incidentally, whist Ed was being kind to me, he was also being modest in that he did not point out that on the Recoil 3HP, each of the three motors has its' own cool-air intake, and each motor exhausts its' hot, damp air outside the case.

John.

[nordan]

Hi i have a santoemma grace which i changed the motors to 3 stage they where 1200 wt  is that right or should that be 1300wt for a 3 stage motor. i payed i think £135 with carriage and vat each is that good or bad. regards Danny

[Ken Wainwright]

£115 inc. carriage plus V.A.T. is in the ball park Nordan. Not quite the cheapest but there abouts. You weren't robbed.

Safe and happy cleaning:)
Ken

[Ian Gourlay]

Many thanks, Yes there was a burning smell but was confused as I was cleaning The Massage parlor. and my red and green lights confused me at the same time.

However I have learnt a lot by being force to take the machine to bits myself so maybee the breakdown is worth it.

Regards

Ian

[Dynafoam]

Ian,

Massage parlor    

No wonder you were not concentrating ! Did you get a gratuity?

Back in the sixties, many of my customers were fashion houses at the back of Oxford Street and we were often called in the day before a big show. With so many models rehersing and changing in full view I found it very hard to get any work out of my helpers.

John.
PS. I tried to end with
" my a s s istants" but the software change it to " I dissagreements"

[Ian Gourlay]

John,

I wanted to be like David Bailey (Photographer ) to get those perks.

Should have started carpet cleaning earlier.

Now I know why Mark Betts prefers Carpet Cleaning to Photography.